The Los Angeles Lakers need less Dennis Schroder

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently down 1-0 in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns. While it is no time to panic quite yet, the Lakers must win Game 2 to avoid falling into a 2-0 pit, which will be hard to dig out of if they continue to play as they did in Game 1.

The Lakers should be fine. They are still the more talented team and Frank Vogel is going to make the proper adjustments. That is something that Vogel has been exceptional in and is a big reason why the team won the NBA Championship last season.

Some of those adjustments could come in giving playing time to players who have not played in the lone playoff game nor the play-in game against the Golden State Warriors. To add such players, Vogel is going to have to take away playing time from someone already in rotation.

There are several leading candidates, including starting point guard Dennis Schroder.

Why the Los Angeles Lakers need less of Dennis Schroder:

Dennis Schroder should not be completely axed from the playoff rotation but he has not been playing the best basketball in the two meaningful games that we have seen. Schroder was part of a terrible first half against Golden State and was not much better in the second half.

Stephen Curry was exposing Schroder every chance he got and it led to Vogel pulling Schroder out of the game in it’s most critical moments.

Schroder was not as bad against Phoenix and was actually quite efficient offensively, although the overall output was still rather low. He was better defensively, but he is still obviously the Lakers’ worst defensive option in the backcourt.

Schroder played 34 of the 48 minutes against the Phoenix Suns. That is close to the kind of playing time that LeBron James and Anthony Davis get and quite frankly, it shouldn’t be. It would be better for the Lakers if they shaved around eight minutes off of Schroder’s playing time.

Some of that could go to Alex Caruso and some could go to implementing other players into the rotation. Regardless, 34 minutes is simply too much for Schroder, especially when you consider how impactful Alex Caruso is on this basketball team.

The on/off numbers tell a good story, even if it is only one game. The Lakers’ net rating was nine points worse with Schroder on the court versus when Schroder was off the court. Meanwhile, the team’s net rating was 23.2 points higher with Alex Caruso on the court versus when he was off the court.

Caruso is one of the best defensive guards in the entire league and he has improved tremendously offensively. He is not an offensive juggernaut by any means but he has been really impressive in the playoff game and the play-in game. His “offensive deficiencies” are not longer a good enough reason to keep him off the court.

This is more than just a one-game example. While it is a bit extreme because of the small sample size, Caruso’s impact on last year’s title-winning team was just as large. The Lakers’ net rating was better when Caruso was on the court and the defensive rating was a whopping 7.4 points better.

While the team was banged up and that will obviously hurt the record, the Lakers were 11-12 in games in which Schroder played more than 34 minutes this season. They were 31-18 when he played fewer than 34 minutes.

It is clear that Schroder is not only playing for an NBA Championship but his next contract as well. The Los Angeles Lakers need to do what is best for the team and sit him down a bit more than they are.